'The Cone's' beginning effect strikes me as being uncertain and inconsequential.
The Cone' which was written in the late 19th century, was set in an industrial part of Britain, whereas 'The Whole Town's Sleeping' was written in 1950 and was set in Illinois. Even with the extreme difference in setting the stories are still similar in the way they are written. But the difference in the way they are set soon puts the contrasts of both stories into perspective. 'The Cone' is evolved around Mrs.
Horrocks and Raut having an affair outside marriage.Due to the story being written many years ago, it would have been considered very unacceptable. Due to her having an affair this shows her marriage was unstable to begin with. After the scene when Horrocks was listening to Rauts and Mrs.
Horrocks conversation, the rest of the story is uneasy and we can tell Mr. Horrocks was planning revenge by 'A new light had suddenly come into the sultry gloom of his eyes. ' In the story 'The Whole Town's Sleeping' the tension starts later after the body is found.At the ends of both stories there is a strange sort of twist. In 'The Whole Town's Sleeping' there is a person at the end who clears their throat and at the end of 'the Cone' it leaves you on the edge. The characters in the stories are reasonably similar.
In both stories there are three main characters. In the story 'The Whole Town's Sleeping' they are, Lavinia, Francine and Helen. In 'The Cone' they are, Mr Horrocks, Mrs Horrocks and Raut. In 'The Whole Town's Sleeping', my favourite character would be Lavinia.I think she is the character that makes the story more interesting.
Lavinia is the one who decides to walk home and be independent which creates tension and excitement. When Lavinia repeats 'Safe, safe' over and over, it makes you realize she likes to be independent and brave but really she is as terrified as much as the other women were. My Favourite character in 'The Cone' however, was Mr. Horrocks.
He kept me interested in the story by leaving hints he was going to do something to Raut, i. e. 'I am slow to make discoveries'.When he says this you are then wondering how much of their private conversation Mr. Horrocks had heard.
The style in which these stories were written are different. In 'The Whole Town's Sleeping', there are a lot of paragraphs and the tension changes dramatically throughout. In 'The Cone', there is a lot of use of short sentences and a small detailed paragraph. But the suspense in each story is similar. The suspense in each goes from intense suspense to none and then from none too intense. However this is more dramatic in 'the Cone' due to it being shorter altogether.
The plots of the stories are set out to keep the reader interested. The beginnings that both stories have each begin with describing the surroundings and atmosphere. The endings to each story end hastily making you want more of the story. I prefer the story 'The Whole Town's Sleeping' because of the ending.
It ends with an incomplete sentence, which leaves you wondering what happens next. Also I prefer this story more than the other due to the way the text is written. Even though a lot of Americanism is used it is easier to understand than 'The Cone.Due to 'The Cone' being written a long time ago, many words such as 'sententiously' and 'Gehenna' etc. are used frequently making the story hard to understand.
My favourite part of 'The Cone' was when the author used horrific detail when Horrocks is murdering Raut. He uses words such as 'agony' and 'monstrous' which creates a clear picture in your mind on what's happening. My favourite aspect of 'The Cone' was the way the author used repetition and he makes you think of how you would react in the same situation.
